Black Pepper Plant - How to grow black peppercorn plants at home - black pepper plants for sale at Logee's

Peppercorn Plants
How to Grow Your Own Peppercorn Plants at Home!

Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) is the most commonly used spice in the world and when paired with salt can be found on almost every household table in the United States. Black Pepper has known health benefits such as: it increases nutrient absorption, improves heart rate and blood pressure, promotes healthy cell growth and digestion, acts as an anti-inflammatory, and enhances the immune system. The beauty of the Black Pepper spice is that not much is needed to get the beneficial effects. Piper nigrum is native to South India, loves the hot tropics and has been in cultivation for over 2,000 years. In temperate climates, the peppercorn plant makes an excellent houseplant.

Spice Up Your Life With a Peppercorn Plant!

Colored peppercorns The Black Pepper plant for sale at Logee's (available in 2.5" pot or 4" pot) is a tropical South Asian vine that produces chains of small round fruit. By choosing the time of harvest and the method of processing, all four types of peppercorns (black, white, green and red) can be harvested from the same plant.

Piper nigrum blooms freely through the summer months and the fruits ripen the following year. Young plants can take 3-4 years to come into bloom but even modest-sized plants can yield hundreds of peppercorns.

Black pepper plant (Piper nigrum) for sale at Logee's

Here are a few things you should know about growing your own black pepper plants so that you'll soon be able to grind your own peppercorns for fresh, aromatic pepper!

Peppercorn Fruit

Green and red peppercorn fruits are often found on the plant at the same time. The red fruit is the ripening fruit. The peppercorn can be picked whether the color is green or red depending on which type of peppercorn you desire. If you want black or green pepper as your final color then, harvest the peppercorn when it’s green. If you want white or red pepper, then harvest the peppercorn when it is red.

Green and red peppercorns on black pepper plant

Black Pepper Plant Growth Habit 

Black Pepper has a vining habit so it grows well in a basket or in a pot with a stake or trellis for support. Attach the stems to the trellis so the plant climbs easily.

Peppercorn Plant Light Requirements

In its native habit of southern India, Black Pepper is an understory plant that climbs up trees and grows in dappled light. When grown as a houseplant, it needs moderate light in an east or west window and it should be placed directly on the windowsill or close to your light source if grown in a light garden. It does benefit from some direct sunlight but not hot noonday sun. Like other tropical plants, Black Pepper can be grown outside during the summer months and brought inside for the winter.

Ideal Temperature for Black Pepper Plant

If you are looking to optimize your flowering and fruiting, then providing daytime temperatures above 70°F (20°C) is ideal. Black Pepper grows best in temperatures above 60°F (15°C).

Flowering Your Peppercorn Plant

The flowers start growing at the leaf nodes of new growth. The small white flowers form pendulous spikes and then small, round, green peppercorns form in chains, which in time ripen to red. Growth slows down in the winter, yet it will fruit and flower year-round. The pepper plant can produce an abundance of peppercorns in a pot as small as 8-inches.

Fertilizing Your Black Pepper Plant

Black Pepper needs low to moderate fertilization with a balanced fertilizer. There are two ways to fertilize the pepper plant. First, you can use a soluble or liquid fertilizer applied every two weeks when you water. Or, you can use a granular organic fertilizer and top dress the plant once a month. Top dressing means to sprinkle the fertilizer on top of the soil and every time you water, a little bit of fertilizer is released. A note of caution: don’t over fertilize your black pepper plant. We use this rule of thumb: if your plant is being grown under high light and high temperatures then increase the fertilizer. If your pepper plant is grown under lower light and temperature levels, then decrease the fertilizer. During the winter months stop fertilizing the plant until warmer temperatures and higher light levels resume in spring.

Black Spots on the Peppercorn Plant Leaf

Spots on the backsides of the peppercorn plant leaves Black spots on the backsides of the pepper leaves are totally normal. They are small crystalline balls that contain sugars called exudates. Over time, these balls turn black. They are sometimes mistaken for insects. They are not. Do not try to remove them. They are part of the plant’s normal physiology and do not harm the plant.

Black Pepper Plant Root Disease

If your growing conditions are too cool and wet, then your pepper plant can be susceptible to root disease. The best way to prevent this problem is to grow the plant in a clay pot and allow the soil to dry out between waterings and make sure your daytime temperatures are above 70°F and your night temperatures don’t drop below 60°F.

Black Pepper Plant Pests

Pepper has few insect pests. Mealy bug is the main culprit but only if other infected plants are nearby.

 


 

Black Pepper is a resilient tropical fruiting plant. It makes an excellent hanging basket or an attractive container plant with a stake or trellis for the plant to climb on. The excitement of harvesting your own peppercorns and grinding your own black pepper makes Piper nigrum a highly sought after and well-loved plant for the home fruiting garden. 

For more information on growing Peppercorn Plants (Piper nigrum):

• See our Black Pepper Plant - 2.5" pot 
• See our Black Pepper Plant - 4" pot 
• Read our book, Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in Any Home, Anywhere. by Laurelynn Martin and Byron Martin, (Storey Publishing, 2010)
Download our Black Pepper Plant PDF Care Sheet
• Watch our Black Pepper Plant informational video below: